COLUMBUS (WCMH) — After recent violence against law enforcement, Columbus Police are now working in pairs.
Police told NBC4 they’ll continue to re-evaluate when it’s safe enough for officers to work alone again.
It’s a tense time for people who wear the badge and their families. As we found out, it’s not just officers feeling the stress. So are their spouses and kids.
Every day Eileen Dale prays she doesn’t get the call. “Hell. We live in fear now,” she said.
Her husband of 22 years, Kenneth Dale, is a Columbus Swat Officer. She said officers used to be respected. “Where they were thought as of heroes, you know we’re the public enemy number one,” she said.
Dale’s 19-year-old son Corinthian also worries. “Just having the phone call saying you know it’s him that isn’t going to come home or something,” he said.
Nikki Malo’s husband Nick has been a state trooper for the past 16 years. She said it’s never been this bad. “It’s just one more thing for them to worry about. Their job is unpredictable as it is, but now they have this concern of being targeted just for doing their job and it’s a shame,” she said.
Malo leans on other police wives to help her get through the long nights. They meet to vent and share their fears. “It’s horrifying. You’re constantly you now checking your phone , checking the news. Is anything going on? What do I tell my kids?”
Dale said all lives matter. “I can’t get over the hate that we have for us, as families. Our men and women that just have that uniform on,” she said.